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MySQL Server Update Today, No Downtime

I use the home-computer I name ‘Phoenix’ as my Web-server. This means that I’m always looking for ways to complete routine system updates, without wanting my server to go offline, as my server going offline would also mean, that for several minutes, my site is not accessible to the public. My server would go offline for a few minutes, if I simply needed to reboot it.

Today came another time, when an update to my MySQL (Database-) Server became due. I have two instances of MySQL running:

As a system process, which serves my Web-site and blog,

As a user-process, which serves the desktop-PIM-daemon also known as “Akonadi”.

Simply having installed the MySQL update, will assure that the system-process is also restarted. But it will not assure, that the user-process is also restarted.

In such cases, what I can often do, is, after the update is finished, Log Out my user-session, and Log it back In. Doing so does not fully reboot the computer, but just restarts the user-space processes, which make up my session, including Akonadi, and including that MySQL user-process.

Today, after the update itself, I performed such a log-out-followed by the log-in. What this means is that my Web-site should have remained accessible the whole time. Yay!